COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's basketball team used a quick start to cruise past Swarthmore College, 75-59, on Saturday afternoon from Helfferich Hall.  
 
The Bears honored four seniors prior to the contest as Laurel Stuempfle, Kylie McNicholas, Charlotte DiLello, and Chinwe Irondi were honored for their hard work, dedication, and commitment to the Women's Basketball program over the last four years. Irondi led all scorers with 24 points (11-of-15), eight rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Sophomore Colleen Blackman added 20 points behind four three-pointers, while DiLello added nine points and seven rebounds with six of her boards coming on the offensive end.

 
With the victory, Ursinus improves to 15-8 overall, 9-4 Centennial Conference action, and currently rank third in the conference standings. Meanwhile, the Garnet fell to 7-15 on the season and 2-10 in conference play.

 
Ursinus opened with a quick 7-2 run to start the contest as McNicholas connected a three-pointer, while juniors Makenna Foder and Madison Smith knocked down jump shots. Swarthmore tied the contest at seven apiece, but a three-pointer from Blackman and an Irondi layup increased the Bears' lead to 12-7 with 4:41 remaining in the quarter. Next, a 7-2 run from Ursinus extended their advantage to 19-9 with 2:22 to play in the opening stanza. During the Bears shooting outbreak, Foder tallied a jump shot while Blackman knocked down a three-pointer and a layup. Smith closed the quarter with the final five points for the Bears as Ursinus held a 26-13 lead heading into the second period.

 
Swarthmore opened the quarter with a basket of their own, but a 10-0 Bears' run increased their lead to 36-15 at the 6:29-mark. The Garnet answered with a 9-4 run to cut their deficit to 16, but Ursinus still held a 40-24 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the half. On the ensuing Bears possession, DiLello snagged an offensive rebound and a layup to increase the Bears advantage to 42-24. Each team connected on a three-pointer to close out the first half, but Ursinus held a 47-29 lead with one half remaining. Irondi opened the second half with the first four points for the Bears, but a 9-5 run from Swarthmore cut their deficit to 53-38 with 4:21 left in the quarter. After an Ursinus timeout, Irondi connected on a layup while a Blackman three-pointer increased the Bears lead to 58-39. Each team traded baskets over the remainder of the period as Ursinus held a 62-44 advantage.

 
The Garnet scored the first three points of the final quarter, until Irondi tallied a layup at the 6:59-mark. Blackman scored five straight for the Bears as they answered each Garnet basket and still held a 71-55 advantage with 3:42 remaining in the contest. Ursinus carried the momentum throughout the rest of the game as Irondi netted the final four points enroute to a 75-59 victory.
 

The Bears shot 49.2% (32-of-65) from the field, 24% (6-of-25) from beyond the arc, and a perfect 100% (5-of-5) at the free throw line. Meanwhile, Swarthmore shot 41.8% (23-of-55) from the floor, 27.3% (3-of-11) from three-point range, and 58.8% (10-of-17) at the charity stripe.
 
 
The Bears return to action on Saturday, February 22nd as they travel to Muhlenberg College, before wrapping up their regular season slate with a road contest against Washington College on Saturday.